WHY ARCHIVAL CERTIFIED MATTERS

Optical brightener additive (OBA) free, bleach free, archival certified paper and canvas are extremely important to us. It is the foundation of our business.

We talk about these principals with customers and future customers day in and day out. Many see the benefits immediately, but sometimes it takes a deeper conversion. We pride ourselves on providing this type of education to help our customers be better prepared to have success in their businesses.

The terms “archival” or “museum grade” are often thrown around—by paper/canvas dealers and print labs alike—without any clarification or details of exactly what it means.

When we say it, it is very clear: we mean that prints are tested and expected to last 100 or more years under normal indoor display conditions. Not 15, not 25…100+ years.

THE CERTIFICATE

We urge our customers to use their own version of the archival certificate when selling prints to their customers.

This is necessary to set yourself apart from every other print shop, especially those offering prints on sub-par media.

HOW OBAS AFFECT LONGEVITY

While OBA’s appear to be an effective solution for enhancing the whiteness of inkjet media, OBAs can pose a serious threat to the integrity and longevity of a fine art print by causing metamerism, which leads to color shifts and by accelerating yellowing over time.

For more information on OBAs and how they affect print longevity, check out this post on our blog.